The Hibernian Father is a 1844 Australian play. It is reportedly the first Australian written play professionally performed in Sydney.[2][3] It has been called the "first made in Australia play".[4]
The playwright was accused of plagiarism of the Irish play The Warden of Galway by the Sydney Morning Herald. These accusations were refuted.[10][11]
The play was written as a vehicle for Frances Nesbit.[12] It was popular and was performed a number of times.[13]
Everyones said "It possessed great merit in dialogue and construction, and proved the author to understand the requirements of a playwright. The Hibernian Father was acted several times, and always met with the approbation of large audiences. "[4]
^"Advertising". The Australian. Vol. I, no. 57. New South Wales, Australia. 6 May 1844. p. 3. Retrieved 19 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Our Weekly Gossip". The Dispatch. Vol. 1, no. 26. New South Wales, Australia. 27 April 1844. p. 1. Retrieved 19 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^Lynch, G., & Pelosi, J. (2011). Lost & Found - Reinstating Playwright Edward Geoghegan (1813-1869) and his Most Controversial Play, The Hibernian Father (1844). Paper presented at Seventh Australian Conference of Celtic Studies.
^Oppenheim, Helen. ‘The Author of The Hibernian Father: An Early Colonial Playwright.’ Australian Literary Studies, vol. 2, no. 4, 1966, doi: 10.20314/als.9dda0e1867.
^Oppenheim, Helen. ‘The Hibernian Father: Mysteries Solved and Unsolved.’ Australian Literary Studies, vol. 3, no. 1, 1967, doi: 10.20314/als.52ae3a9274.
^"THEATRICALS". The Australian. Vol. I, no. 70. New South Wales, Australia. 21 May 1844. p. 3. Retrieved 19 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"A great play resurrected", ABC Weekly, 12 (39), Sydney, 30 September 1950, retrieved 19 November 2023 – via Trove